With The Help Of A Little Boy, The Small Town Of Ankeny Got It’s First Police Dog In 20 Years!

Ashley Maisano

By Ashley Maisano

Proper FAP familypet_belowtitle

The town of Ankeny, Iowa has not had a police dog in 20 years. But thanks to the help of this five-year-old boy, Tristan Sommerfeld, that statistic has just changed! This past month, a dog named Bosco joined the Ankeny police department as part of its brand new K-9 Unit. He came from an animal shelter in Syracuse, Indiana, where he was brought in as a stray puppy. A trainer at the shelter discovered that Bosco would make a great police tracking dog and brought him to the attention of a police trainer in Omaha, Nebraska, where he received the training to be the tracking dog that he is today.

The Ankeny City Council set a fundraising goal of $20,000 to help pay some of the beginning costs of starting the K-9 unit. They wound up exceeding that goal and raised $30,000! But it was Tristan’s donation that was so special. He wants to be a police officer when he grows up, so when he heard about the fundraiser, he knew he had to help. For his birthday, instead of asking for gifts, he asked for donations for the K-9 fund. He raised $1,500 which he donated right to the police department. What an amazing little boy! The addition of Bosco and the K-9 unit is a great thing. When people go missing, having a tracking dog is very helpful. Watch the video about Bosco’s addition below, and be sure to follow him along on his journey on his Instagram page.